Fall Peak near and in Heidelberg

As we do most Sunday afternoons these days, we headed down today to see the progress on our future condo building: some of the forms are up for the side walls of the parking garage now:

More interesting than the construction progress though, was appreciating how spectacular our lovely future view is in peak fall foliage season (he colors were much more intense in person--as much so as the closer up photos to follow, my little point and shoot dulls them from a distance):

We walked around the neighborhood a bit and just enjoyed the beauty of the season:

On the way home, we decided to stop downtown Heidelberg to "leaf peep" some more and get more photos.  Autumn is my favourite season, and you cannot beat peak foliage time in a place like the Neckar Valley.  

Again, sadly, photos from a bit of distance show up faded, but the real life colors were just as vibrant as could be:

Standing on the alte Brucke, with only a couple of dozen of tourists around me, I couldn't help but think that the 100s of international tourist swarming the same area in mid and late September, adding in a stop here in Heidelberg on a trip to Oktoberfest had missed out on a much more magical time.  

Personally, I recommend that if you ever have the chance to travel to Germany in the fall--skip the huge beer festival (it is fun, but so are dozens of little ones and there is always one to be found if you try) and go a few weeks later and enjoy the natural beauty in all its glory instead.

---Hadle

A lovely fall day in Speyer

I spent the afternoon today in the nearby city of Speyer.  It is a lovely place, so I thought I would pop by and share some photos:


The town itself, and the landscape as you drive up, is dominated by the HUGE Speyer Dom (or Speyer Cathedral).  The cathedral, built primarily between 1030 and 1061 (with some additions in the 11th and 12th centuries) stands over 71 meters high and is considered a a major turning point in European architecture.  I am always amazed by the size and scope of a 1000 year old building:

Today we had the fabulous good fortune of arriving while the organist was practicing--the sound of those amazing instruments in the spaces they are meant for really adds to the ambiance.  As European churches go, this one is fairly basic inside--it predates many of the lighter and airy architectural features.  It is still intersting inside, and the space just feels so BIG:

Visiting the church is free, and for a fee of 3.50€ you can also go down into the crypts (which are well lit and really not very creepy feeling):

A short walk down the pretty main street ends at the old city gate:

Continuing a bit further there are two lovely later era churches complete with lacy stained glass windows (at least one of the churches is usually open when we are in Speyer, but today both were closed),  I love the iron gates around the one church--they always make me think of the scene in The Sound of Music when the kids run up to the Abbey gates wanting to see Maria:

The residential portion of town is also lovely and fun to wander around:

Behind the cathedral is a  lovely big park area with a mini golf course, lots of art work,  wide open spaces and paths out to the Rhine river:

We finished our day by looping through the fall fest/carnival which was set up on the edge of town.  I love the juxtaposition of the new, modern rides and the old cathedral spires.  

--Hadley